Lodestone Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,565 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 2,119 shares during the period. American Express makes up approximately 1.7% of Lodestone Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 368.7% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in American Express by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 95,443 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,679,000 after buying an additional 7,822 shares during the period. Berry Wealth Group LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth approximately $296,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in American Express by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,458 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,088,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 56.4% in the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 7,213 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AXP stock opened at $325.83 on Thursday. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $293.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.48. The company has a market capitalization of $228.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up previously from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

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